


The Princess and the Boxer

by bettybrown



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types, Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan
Genre: Angst, F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-06-01
Updated: 2018-10-11
Packaged: 2019-05-16 19:59:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,272
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14817923
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bettybrown/pseuds/bettybrown
Summary: Annabeth has to tutor Percy and neither one is happy about it. Annabeth wants to get into college and tutoring Percy will get her the scholarship she needs.Percy is busy with his job being a boxer after school to study.punk!percy and girly!annabeth





	1. The First Meeting

**Author's Note:**

> I'm writing this to be reminiscent of Pride and Prejudice.

Waiting for Percy Jackson in the library at school felt like it was a lost cause. Annabeth was supposed to meet him right after school, which happened to have ended 20 minutes ago, so they could start their tutoring session. He didn’t seem excited to do these tutoring sessions, so Annabeth wasn’t surprised that he hadn’t showed up.

Annabeth started working on her homework since there was nothing to do during her wait. She figured she would give him another 20ish minutes before she left. She wouldn’t let it go though she would find him tomorrow and give him an earful. When she started getting into the groove of her course work Annabeth heard the library door being pushed open. Looking up she saw Percy finally making an appearance.

Percy walked in like he wasn’t 30 minutes late, which infuriated Annabeth. His usual black leather jacket was over a black band tee that Annabeth never heard of. His black pants, were tight with holes in them, were rolled above his boots, and to top off his dishevelment he was putting his hair up into a bun as he walked. Annabeth was surprised to see a backpack hanging on his shoulder, she figured that he wouldn’t take this as seriously as he should. Annabeth had never seen Percy with anything other than a scowl or on a rare occasion a note pad, but never a pencil. Now he not only had paper and a pencil, but he had books and notes? Annabeth moved her book to the side as he sat down. 

He rummaged in his backpack and pulled out a few books with a note pad and a pencil. He had everything he need for their first tutoring session.

When Percy looked up Annabeth said, “I’ve talked with your teachers and they said last year you struggled in Math, Science, and English. I figure we can work on each for an hour, excluding your homework, about 3 times a week. So which one would you like to start with?” Annabeth was ready for them to make a schedule so that she could start holding him accountable for these study sessions.

“Yea I don’t mind having these little “study sessions” but I won’t be staying here for an extra 3 hours, I have shit to do.” The look on Percy’s face left no room for negotiation. Bristling at his statement Annabeth hid her surprise, no-one had ever spoken to her like she was a child. However; Annabeth always got her way.

“How about this Saturday and Sunday? Surely you can spare a few hours on the weekend.” Annabeth made it sound so reasonable that he couldn’t possibly disagree. 

Percy sighed but agreed, “I guess, ill have to move some things around though.”  
“Great, now let’s get started. What do you want to get started on first?”

\---------------------------------------------------------------

 

The study session finally finished, Percy chose to start with Math, and Annabeth sighed with relief. She didn’t know what she was getting into when she signed up for helping Percy. He wouldn’t stop tapping his foot, alternating between tapping or chewing his pencil, and biting his nails. All disgusting habits in Annabeth’s opinion. It also took forever for him to understand a simple concept. She had to find so many different ways to explain just one thing before he barely understood it and by the time he fully comprehended it there was no time for her to switch to a new subject. This made it to where they spent two hours just on one subject before Percy had to leave. 

Percy stuffed all of his papers and books back into his bag and practically ran out of the library. Annabeth huffed at his back as she carefully placed each item back into her backpack. As Annabeth walked to the gym to meet up with Piper she thought about how she would get through the school year. Percy was the least motivated person she had ever met, the whole time in the library he wasn’t one hundred percent focused. Sure, Annabeth knew that Percy didn’t ask Annabeth to tutor him. But from what she understood from his teachers he was low in the class ranking and risking not being able to graduate. Assuming that Percy knew that Annabeth couldn’t understand why he would treat her like it was her fault.

The closer Annabeth got to the gym the louder the music was. She was starting to understand the lyrics and groaned when she could finally understand them. She understood that the 90’s were making a comeback, but that didn’t mean The Backstreet Boys should too, or N-Sync. Annabeth could never tell the difference but did anyone else really know the difference either?

Looking down onto the gym floor she caught the end of the routine the dance team was working on. Being the captain, therefore the best, Piper was in the front with her body twisted in a way the made Annabeth’s body hurt. 

“Okay guys good work today, remember we have another practice tomorrow for the game on Saturday. And if we’re as good as we were tonight then it’ll be a good game. Okay hands in.” Piper’s squad, as she’s heard Piper refer to them before, got together in a circle with one of their hands in the middle. They started a side to side bounce and said a little chant that Annabeth tuned out.

The squad finished and went towards the different piles of backpacks littered across the floor. Walking out in small groups the gym slowly emptied of chipper smiling girls talking about some guy on some team that they couldn’t wait to talk to at the next party. Annabeth had to try not to roll her eyes, just because she found their conversation idiotic they’re still Pipers friends. Piper was putting a shirt over her sweaty sports bra that she practiced then picked up her backpack and put it on her shoulders.

As she walked towards Annabeth Piper’s ponytail swayed from side to side. Even after a long practice Piper still looked like she could go out for the night, on a date, hell even run for state office. After a five-minute jog Annabeth looked like she had been to war and back and got a sunburn on her trip. It was the one thing that annoyed Annabeth the most about her best friend.

“How was your first study session with Jackson?” the bright look in her eyes from a successful practice couldn’t hide the worry she had for her best friend.

“Let’s walk and talk.” The pair turned around and started walking to the front of the building side by side.

“Well first of all he showed up late. How late was he you ask? 30 minutes. Then I said I wanted to meet up for three hours three times a week. Reasonable right? Well not according to Percy Jackson. He acted like that was such a ridiculous idea.” Annabeth started speaking faster as she kept talking.

“So he finally agreed wee could meet on weekends for a few hours. Like what he does on weekends is so important. He probably holds up liquor stores and is a part of other gang activities.”

“You can’t believe all of the rumors Annabeth. It’s not fair to him.” Piper, ever the optimist, tried to talk some sense into Annabeth. However; with the way she was talking it wouldn’t be that easy.

“Okay fine maybe he is the busiest teenage boy the world has ever seen. But how am I supposed to tutor someone when it took him 2 hours to fully understand the Pythagorean theorem? How can I catch him up in three subjects?” The anger Annabeth felt turned to worry and anxiety as she thought about what she just said.

The two girls walked out and joined the foot traffic of New York. Walking in New York at the end of the work day was like going through the hallways of Goode Highschool but on crack. The Annabeth and Piper ducked into a Starbucks to wait out the rush of commuters, neither one of them wanted to be packed into a subway car like a can of sardines.

They stood in line and Piper continued their conversation, “You’re smart Annabeth you’ll figure it out. I mean you’ve figured out how to succeed with your dyslexia. You’ll think of something clever that will work like a charm.”

Reaching the front of the line Piper ordered a coffee and turned towards Annabeth, “What do you want?”

“A tea is fine.” Annabeth answered while she scanned the room for an empty table.

The barista nodded and put in the order, asked for their names, and took Piper’s money. Annabeth led Piper to a high-top table to sit and wait for their drinks.

“Thanks for the tea, I got next.” Said Annabeth as they sat down.

“No problem.” Piper looked at Annabeth for a second then asked, “Was he scary? The way he walks around school with headphones 24/7, doesn’t talk to anyone, and he always looks mad. I would be to intimidated to say anything to him.”

“Honestly at first I wasn’t that intimidated because I was so mad at him for being late. Then later he took of his jacket and he has a ton of tattoos. It threw me off because sure people at school have tattoos, but he has so many. He's going to regret some of those when he's older.”  
Annabeth gestured to both of her arms, indicating that he had them all the way down both arms.

“Really? What did he have?"

Before Annabeth could answer the baristas called their names. Annabeth went and got their drinks, when she came back she sat down and continued.

“His tattoos were surprisingly colorful, but I didn’t want to stare.” Piper nodded with understanding and Annabeth continued, “The only one I could see clearly was a MOM tattoo, how corny right?”

“What do you mean?” Piper sipped her drink waiting for Annabeth to continue.

Annabeth took a second, “Well, I mean, he takes so much care on his “bad boy” persona and he has a MOM tattoo. It seems like it’s too much of a contradiction. He walks around school with his leather jacket and ripped jeans, always listening to music, and scowling at anyone that looks at him. And he’s a momma’s boy?”

Piper smiled and shook her head.

Annabeth wanting to change the subject asked her friend about the upcoming game. Once they finished their drinks they threw their cups away and walked to the subway. They talked until Piper got off at her stop and Annabeth continued to her stop. The whole way home Annabeth thought about everything that happened in the library with Percy. She started getting mad all over again at him being late, the way he spoke to her, and his attitude in general.

When Annabeth got home she put all thoughts of Percy out of her mind and went to her room to start on her homework.


	2. Screw chapter titles. It's hard to think of clever titles

Annabeth finally finished her homework and shoved her books into her backpack for tomorrow. Her back was tight from hunching over her desk for so long. She stood up to stretch and looked at the clock. The clock on her nightstand glowed 8 o’clock, why was she surprised? It wasn’t the first time her family forgot to get her for dinner. Annabeth thought that how strange it was that someone could get used to eating cold leftovers.

Before heading to the kitchen Annabeth changed into her favorite comfy clothes. She walked through the hallway and into the kitchen not bothering to turn on the lights. Opening the fridge she squinted, from the bright light, and saw some Chinese takeout boxes. Weighing each box, she looked for the one that had the most food. Finding one that seemed mostly full Annabeth shut the fridge door, got a fork, and went back to her room.

Grabbing her laptop from her desk Annabeth sat on her bed and opened her Netflix. Her English homework took longer than she had anticipated so there was no time for a show. She just put on a movie and opened her box of Chinese and dug in.

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

The alarm going off barely got Annabeth up in the morning. Opening her eyes, she groaned as she reached for her phone. Annabeth turned off the alarm as she wiped some drool off her cheek. She cringed as she saw the, thankfully empty, Chinese next to her laptop by her legs. It always started the day off on a depressing note when she saw she had fallen asleep with her computer and her dinner still in her bed. She set the box on her nightstand and closed her laptop before she stretched her back and stood up.

Walking to her bathroom she opened Spotify and started her easy listening playlist for her shower. She turned on the water and as she waited for the water to warm she looked in the mirror. Her hair was a mess of frizzy tangles looking like a halo around her head. Today would have to be a conditioner day if she wanted to resemble a person.

Shutting off the water, Annabeth started the lengthy task of drying and styling her hair. On mornings like this Annabeth wished she didn’t have curly hair so her routine would be much, much shorter. When she finally finished her hair, she started her makeup. Light foundation, a cat eye, and a nude lipstick, for a natural look to compliment one of the sundresses in her closet.

Turning off her music, she grabbed her backpack and headed down to the kitchen for some coffee to really wake her up. When Annabeth walked in to the kitchen, her stepmom was talking to her step brothers while they ate their breakfast.

“Matthew, Bobby are you two even listening to me?”

“Yes” they replied in unison, not looking up from their food.

“After school you both have lacrosse practice so bring your gear with you to school. I’ll pick you two up after practice then pick up some dinner. When we get home and you’re done eating you both need to do your homework,” her stepmom looked pointedly at the two boys and said, “all of your homework.”

The boys only nodded in response. 

Annabeth went to the coffee maker and started a fresh pot of coffee while her stepmother continued talking. “You both also need to set your dirty clothes out; the housekeeper is coming tomorrow, and she will only do your laundry if it’s out. I won’t have her digging around your room for it.” Another round of nods from the boys was enough for her to continue, “I’m starting to think I’ll have her start cleaning your rooms because they’re both such a mess.”

Annabeth rolled her eyes. 

Her stepmother never made her stepbrothers do anything. Bobby and Matthew were angels in their mother’s eyes. However, Annabeth knew that they were just spoiled underachieving 13-year-olds, but with a mom that lets them get away with anything she couldn’t really blame them.

Annabeth tuned out her stepmother’s endless stream of babble while she poured her coffee into a travel mug. She didn’t have to pay attention to her stepmom. Annabeth knew the chances of her stepmom talking to her were close to nothing unless she had done something wrong. She was practically a ghost in her own house. Grabbing a banana, Annabeth left the kitchen shaking her head.

As Annabeth walked to the subway, she put in her headphones and listened to a new TED talk podcast. She turned up the volume as she entered the stream of people going down the steps to the station below. Luckily there were no delays, so she didn’t have to wait too long for her train. When her train arrived, she picked the least crowded car and found a seat. Annabeth pulled out her phone and texted Piper to let her know which car she was in. To waste time until Piper got on the train she scrolled through Instagram.

“Hey, how was your night?” Piper’s sudden question shocked Annabeth making her jump and drop her phone. “Sorry” Piper winced.

“It’s fine, my homework took forever. The English homework was such a pain, why would you give two whole chapters for homework? One chapter? Fine, I can handle one chapter, but my brain felt like mush by the time I got to the second chapter.” Annabeth replied. 

“Man, that sucks, but at least you did the work. I don’t even have dyslexia and I didn’t even finish the reading.”

“Is that because you were hanging out with Jason all night?” joked Annabeth. Piper and Jason started dating last year and acted like a married couple, but Annabeth loved teasing Piper about how giddy she still gets around him. They still act like they’ve only been dating for a few weeks.

“Possibly” there might have been a hint of guilt in her friend’s eyes, but her goofy smile drowned it out. Annabeth smiled happy for her friend, with all her teasing she was glad her friend found someone that was making her happy.

“We were just hanging out talking about the game this Friday. It’s the first of the season so Jason is a little nervous, and its my first game doing a routine that I made. So, it was more like we were freaking out next to each other than anything else.”

“I’m sure you both will do fine. He had summer camp and you basically forced the squad into one as well. You’re both ready for this.” Annabeth could see that she would be reassuring her friend until after the game. She didn’t mind though; it was why her and Piper were such good friends. They’re both perfectionists that understand each other’s freak-outs.

“You’ll be at the game, right?”

“Of course! Ill have a sign for you and Jason.”

“Good, then we can all go out and get something to eat after.”

They arrived at their stop putting a pause on their conversation. The doors opened with a rush of people trying to get onto their car making it difficult to exit. The two girls followed the stream of people up the stairs back onto the sidewalk. Turning left out of the station they started walking the half block to school.

“So, when are you tutoring Percy next?” Piper asked as she dodged a few men in suits.

“We are supposed to meet this Saturday if he can fit me into his schedule. I still don’t see how he can be so busy.”

“You’re busy” Piper raised her eyebrow daring Annabeth to disagree with her.

“I’m not that busy. I’m just on student council, academic team, debate team, and the track team. But it’s not track season yet. So I have some free time.”

Before Piper could reply they reached the front steps of Goode High School. Walking up the steps they passed people sitting down or leaning on the railing smoking cigarettes, some of them might not have been tobacco, before going inside. Others were just drinking their coffee and chatting. Either way they were all just wasting time before the inevitability of school was thrust on them.


	3. im hungry but my stove is broken

Leaving Piper to wait for Jason on the front steps Annabeth went to her locker to switch out her books. Most people hate school, or say that they love learning, but they don't pay attention in class and don’t do homework. Annabeth, on the other hand, loves everything: school, homework, even some of the more tedious lectures that most would call boring. The hard work ending with knowledge she didn't have before gave her a high that no one really understood.

The rest of the week flew by and before she knew it Annabeth had to talk to Percy about their next tutoring session. She had been putting it off, but only because she wanted to. It’s not like he made it easy to talk to him. Percy Jackson talked to no one in school, when he walked down the halls he was given a wide berth. When someone worked up the courage to talk to him he would just stare and say nothing until they left.

Before the last bell rang Annabeth pulled out her copy of Percy's schedule. Shop. She could have guessed. It seemed that all of the underachievers took shop or any of the other vocational classes for an easy “A”. It made sense to Annabeth, why take a real class where you have to put effort in to learn something when you could do nothing and goof off without any repercussions.

When class ended Annabeth hurried through the halls to find Percy before he left. She walked through the door of the shop room and found an empty classroom. Why were there normal desks? Didn’t shop have to do with cars or something? Looking around the room Annabeth saw an open door and heard some conversation. Taking a chance, she walked in and saw Percy in the corner cleaning up while others were talking while pretending to pick up their areas.

Looking more closely around the room Annabeth saw what she expected to be in a shop room. It was big with tables on the walls leaving the center of the room empty. The floor was covered in stains and the tables had things set on top of them. Walls had tools hanging on them and there were even more tools under the tables. It looked like the room was a mess, but an organized one.

The farther Annabeth walked into the room the more stares she got and conversations died. When Annabeth was almost at Percy when he finally looked up. He had been putting something away at the bottom of some shelf. Some of his hair had come out of the bun he had so he had to look through the hair that had fallen. He stood looking around the room and there was a burst of movement and conversation.

“Is it that strange to see a member of the opposite sex in this room?” Annabeth asked.

Percy looked down and smirked at Annabeth “Well it is a boy’s club.”

Annabeth smiled “When and where do you want to meet up tomorrow?” 

Instead of responding Percy picked up something covered in grease and turned to put it away. His shirt stretched over his shoulders in a way that made Annabeth look away. He turned wiping his hands on a towel. Annabeth was getting a little impatient watching him throw the towel in a bin with some others that looked equally greasy. He put his coat on before he finally responded to her question.

“I take my little sister to the library around 1. That work for you?”

Little sister? Whatever, Annabeth wanted to hurry up and leave. “Sure, where is it.” 

She wrote down the cross streets and left the room without a backwards glance. Annabeth quickly made her way to the front of the school, so she could meet up with Reyna. They normally walked to their student council meeting together, so they could discuss talking points before the meeting actually started. As Annabeth got closer to her and Reyna’s meeting spot it was clear no one was waiting for her.

Annabeth sighed and started to walk a little bit faster. Reyna wouldn’t like that she was late, she was always looking for ways to undermine her. When Annabeth won student body president she also won a rival. Reyna made it very clear to Annabeth, and the rest of the student council, that she thought that she should have been president over Annabeth.

Walking into the meeting room Annabeth had to roll her eyes. Reyna arranged the desks from the usual circle, that Annabeth sets up, to more of an oval so that she sat at the head. The way the two setup the desks told a lot about the leader in Annabeth’s eyes. Reyna wants to be at the head, making it to where people would automatically defer to her. Whereas Annabeth liked it to be a group conversation where everyone had equal input and importance.

“Hey Reyna, sorry I was late I had to take care of something really quick.” Reyna looked up from a book she was reading smirking. 

“I wasn’t sure if you were going to make it.” Reyna started putting her book into her backpack as she spoke.

Annabeth generally toned her accent down because when she moved to New York everyone made fun of her. However; its time like this when Annabeth lets her southern accent come out a little bit more,

“It’s alright you couldn’t have known.”.

Killing with kindness isn’t generally the way Annabeth goes, but with Reyna it is always satisfying. Annabeth could always use her southern charm to throw the straight-faced Reyna off her game. When she lost most of her accent, combined with her already blunt attitude, something she got in trouble in Virginia, she started to fit into her new school a little bit better. Reyna grew up dealing with New Yorkers all her life so when Annabeth put on some “Southern Charm” Reyna couldn’t figure out the best way to respond. Hearing footsteps behind her Annabeth turned around, saving Reyna from responding.

Annabeth dropped her accent before saying “Hey Selina, Clarissa. Perfect timing guys, I could use a little help to put the desks into a circle.”

The two girls nodded and helped Annabeth widen the oval into a circle.


End file.
